John E. Cech

Dr. John Cech is the 18th President of Carroll College

Dr. Cech began his presidency at Carroll on June 1, 2018. During his tenure at Carroll College, he established the College’s “"Healthcare Professions Initiative" and is proud to have supported college-wide efforts to establish the College’s second graduate program, a Master’s of social work, a Healthcare Leadership Certificate, as well as an accelerated nursing program. As a part of the “Healthcare Professions Initiative,” Dr. Cech is also proud of the College's recent accomplishments in completing an extensive renovation of the College’s nursing facilities and the creation of the E. L. Wiegand Nursing Simulation Center, the design and construction of which were driven by the College’s nursing education facility, and which models the environment found in a hospital/clinic.

Additionally, during Dr. Cech's time at Carroll, the College has completed the design and construction of the Anthrozoology Canine Center and completed Phase I of the reconstruction of the Corette Library to create the Simperman Learning Commons. Other notable efforts included the establishment of a partnership with the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom and with the Keck Observatory on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Dr. Cech previously served in the Montana University System for the past 16 years, first as the leader of City College at MSU Billings, which doubled its enrollment and significantly expanded its campus footprint under Cech’s leadership. Cech then spent eight years as Deputy Commissioner of Higher Education for the Montana University System, where he was responsible for Academic, Research, and Student Affairs for the State.

During his tenure, the Montana University System was recognized for its work through Complete College America as one of four states in the nation to make systemic advances in key initiatives around student success and completion. Cech has led the CCA efforts for Montana and was recently appointed by the Complete College America President as one of 50 CCA Fellows in the nation.